{"id":32114,"date":"2023-08-24T11:52:27","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T17:52:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/vivek-ramaswamy-takes-center-stage-at-gop-debate\/"},"modified":"2023-08-24T17:52:27","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T17:52:27","slug":"vivek-ramaswamy-takes-center-stage-at-gop-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/vivek-ramaswamy-takes-center-stage-at-gop-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Vivek Ramaswamy takes center stage at GOP debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Republican
Republican presidential candidates, from left, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. The Associated Press<\/span>Morry Gash<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have dominated the Republican presidential nomination fight for much of the year. Neither dominated the debate stage Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

Trump, of course, decided to skip the GOP\u2019s opening presidential primary debate given his overwhelming lead in the polls. DeSantis showed up, but he was overshadowed for much of the night by political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy.<\/p>\n

And there was no shortage of aggressive performances from the others on stage either. Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were aggressive when given the opportunity.<\/p>\n

It took more than an hour for moderators to ask about Trump\u2019s legal battles, a discussion previewed with a video of the Atlanta jail where he will surrender on charges Thursday.<\/p>\n

The former president scheduled counterprogramming with an interview aired on X, formerly known as Twitter, while his team suggested that the debate was essentially an audience to see who\u2019s best positioned to serve as his running mate.<\/p>\n

Here are our takeaways from an action-filled night:<\/p>\n

\"Florida
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy talk at the same time during a Republican presidential primary debate Wednesday in Milwaukee. (AP Photo\/Morry Gash)<\/span>Morry Gash<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Vivek grabs the spotlight<\/div>\n

At the center of the stage, and the center of the debate\u2019s hottest exchanges, was a 38-year-old man who no one expected to be there even a few months ago \u2013 a novice candidate and technology entrepreneur named Vivek Ramaswamy.<\/p>\n

Though he\u2019s well behind Trump, Ramaswamy has crept up in recent polls, leading to his position next to DeSantis at center stage. And he quickly showed why when he showcased his ready-for-video, on-message approach \u2014 talking about how his poor parents moved to the U.S. and gave him the chance to found billion-dollar companies.<\/p>\n

Then Ramaswamy started to throw elbows. At one point he declared, \u201cI\u2019m the only person on the stage who isn\u2019t bought and paid for.\u201d He slammed his rivals as \u201csuper PAC puppets\u201d who were using \u201cready-made, pre-prepared slogans\u201d to attack him.<\/p>\n

He seemed to be betting that primary voters preferred something memorable said to something done. His rivals were having none of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow is not the time for on-the-job training,\u201d Pence said. \u201cWe don\u2019t need to bring in a rookie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christie cut in during one of Ramaswamy\u2019s most biting attacks. \u201cI\u2019ve had enough of a guy who stands up here who sounds like ChatGPT,\u201d Christie said, adding that Ramaswamy\u2019s opening line about being a skinny guy with a hard-to-pronounce name reminded him of former President Barack Obama \u2014 not a compliment on a Republican stage. Ramaswamy responded by asking Christie for a \u201chug,\u201d referencing when Obama visited Christie\u2019s state following Hurricane Sandy.<\/p>\n

Haley attacked Ramaswamy\u2019s argument that the U.S. shouldn\u2019t support Ukraine in its defense against Russia\u2019s invasion. \u201cUnder your watch, you would make America less safe. You have no foreign policy experience and it shows,\u201d Haley told him, standing directly to his left.<\/p>\n

Navigating Trump<\/div>\n

It took more than an hour for the candidates to confront the elephant not in the room.<\/p>\n

And when they did, most of the participants raised their hands to say they\u2019d support Trump even if he was convicted. That\u2019s after the moderators noted that Trump is facing more than 90 criminal counts in separate cases across four jurisdictions.<\/p>\n

Ramaswamy vowed to pardon Trump if given the chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s just speak the truth. President Trump, I believe, was the best president of the 21st century. It\u2019s a fact,\u201d Ramaswamy said.<\/p>\n

Christie, a former U.S. attorney and frequent Trump antagonist, pushed back aggressively despite being drowned out at times by the audience\u2019s boos.<\/p>\n

Even if people disagree with the criminal charges, Christie said, \u201cThe conduct is beneath the office of the president of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

Divide on abortion post-Dobbs<\/div>\n

The Republicans on stage did not downplay their strong opposition to abortion rights when given the opportunity. But there was a clear divide among the candidates over whether to push for a federal abortion ban.<\/p>\n

Haley called on her opponents to be honest with voters that a federal law that imposes an abortion ban on all states would likely never get through the narrowly divided Congress. She said the issue should be sent back to the states. She also made a personal appeal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to stop demonizing this issue,\u201d Haley said. \u201cWe aren\u2019t going to put a woman in jail \u2026 if she has an abortion.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the other side: Pence, an evangelical Christian who has long fought against abortion rights. Both Pence and Scott openly endorsed a national ban on abortions at 15 weeks at least. Pence said that Haley\u2019s call to find consensus in the states \u201cis the opposite of leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a states-only issue. It\u2019s a moral issue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

DeSantis, who signed a 6-week abortion ban into Florida law just this spring, didn\u2019t take a position on a federal ban when asked directly. He said he was \u201cproud\u201d to sign his state\u2019s abortion ban, which is one of the strictest in the nation.<\/p>\n

Democrats were likely happy with the discussion. They already plan to make abortion a central issue in next fall\u2019s general election.<\/p>\n

DeSantis in the background<\/div>\n

The Florida governor was the highest polling contender on stage. Yet at the debate, he seemed to slide into the background as Ramaswamy took most of the attacks and fought with others on stage.<\/p>\n

DeSantis rarely waded into the back-and-forth, preferring to wait for a moment when he could give a lengthy statement. His critics \u2013 especially Trump \u2013 have hammered him for being awkward and wooden, and he had relatively few opportunities to dispel that impression.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say DeSantis didn\u2019t have strong moments. He grabbed hold of a question about liberal billionaire George Soros, a major donor to left-leaning causes and frequent conservative target. DeSantis noted he was the only person on the stage who\u2019s removed Democratic prosecutors who were elected with donations from Soros\u2019 network.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs president, we are going to go after all of these people because they are hurting the quality of life,\u201d DeSantis said.<\/p>\n

But even when DeSantis successfully walked the tightrope that has defined his campaign \u2013 avoiding direct Trump criticism while making a case for why he\u2019d do the job better \u2013 he was brought down to Earth.<\/p>\n

The candidates were asked whether Pence did the right thing by letting Congress certify Joe Biden\u2019s presidential election victory on Jan. 6, 2021. DeSantis was notably quiet and had to be asked twice by the moderators for his answer. \u201cI\u2019ve answered this, Mike did his duty, I\u2019ve got no beef with him,\u201d DeSantis said, contending that Democrats wanted the GOP to talk about Jan. 6 while pivoting to the future, saying the election has to be about Jan. 20, 2025 \u2013 the day the next president is sworn in.<\/p>\n

Bret Baier, one of the moderators, retorted, \u201cDonald Trump is beating you by 30 to 40 points in the polls so it is an issue we have to face.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear whether DeSantis changed that dynamic. With roughly four months left to go until voting starts, he may not have many other big opportunities to do so.<\/p>\n

The lone woman<\/div>\n

With eight candidates on the stage, it was a challenge to stand out. But one stood out immediately \u2013 Haley \u2013 because she was the only woman there and the only person not in a dark suit and Republican-red tie.<\/p>\n

Haley quoted Margaret Thatcher about how women get things done while men talk, stressing the importance of educating girls and arguing that keeping transgender girls out of female sports was a woman\u2019s issue. \u201cI am going to fight for girls all day long because strong girls become strong women and strong women become strong leaders,\u201d Haley said.<\/p>\n

She also explicitly referenced the general election even as she remains a longshot in primary polls. Some of her most memorable moments came when she sparred with Ramaswamy on whether the U.S. should send weapons and funding to Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Rejection of Trump\u2019s claims<\/div>\n

Trump has almost made it a prerequisite for people vying for his party\u2019s nomination to claim that he won the 2020 election. In 2022, Republican candidates in several debates were quick to say they disbelieve the 2020 election results.<\/p>\n

Not on Wednesday. Instead, candidate after candidate praised Pence \u2013 who may end up a witness in one of the federal prosecutions against Trump \u2013 for rejecting the former president\u2019s pleas to halt Biden\u2019s certification as the victor on Jan. 6. Only Ramaswamy declined to support Pence.<\/p>\n

\u201cMike Pence stood for the constitution and he deserves not grudging credit but our thanks as Americans,\u201d Christie said.<\/p>\n

Pence has been attacked by Trump repeatedly and pursued by hecklers still angry that he didn\u2019t try to keep Trump in office. While an Associated Press poll earlier this month found that 7 out of 10 Americans think Biden legitimately won the election, 57% of Republicans do not agree with that statement. That\u2019s a reflection of both Trump\u2019s repetition of his election lies and the way a conservative media world parrots those lies, or at least shies away from contradicting them.<\/p>\n

Fox News recently paid $787 million to settle a libel suit from voting machine firm Dominion Systems over airing lies about the 2020 election, so it was especially striking to hear such robust statements on the network, including Pence\u2019s final statement about Trump.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe asked me to put him over the Constitution,\u201d Pence said of the former president, \u201cand I chose the Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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